修行(monasticism)
制度化的宗教活动，参与者由誓言约束，度过祈祷、沈思或是善举等修道行为。修会的成员通常独身，他们生活在由修士或修女组成的社区团体中，或是作为修道隐士而远离社会。最早的基督教团体建立在埃及的沙漠中，最着名的是4世纪隐居者埃及的圣安东尼。修道院制度在整个拜占庭帝国和西欧传播。本笃会，6世纪的时候由努西亚的圣本笃创立，要求教徒进行适度的苦行，并建立了定期的膜拜仪式。整个中世纪，修道院制度不仅在传播基督教的过程中，而且在保护和增加文献、着作方面发挥了极其重要的作用。这一制度不时地发生变革，着名的如12世纪的西笃会，并且有托钵修会的建立，如道明会和方济会。修行制度在东方的宗教中也很重要。在早期的印度（西元前200～西元600年），很多隐居者群居在一起（阿室罗摩），但是他们并不过严格组织的团体生活。耆那教可能是第一个存在有组织的修行生活的宗教，其修行的特徵为极端的禁欲主义。佛教徒遵守一种适度的准则，以避免自我放任和自我禁欲两个极端。
English version：
monasticism
Institutionalized religious movement whose members are bound by vows to an ascetic life of prayer, meditation, or good works. Members of monastic orders (monks) are usually celibate, and they live apart from society either in a community of monks or nuns or as religious recluses. The earliest Christian monastic communities were founded in the deserts of Egypt, most notably by the 4th-century hermit St. Anthony of Egypt. Monasticism spread throughout the Byzantine empire and Western Europe. The Benedictine order, founded by St. Benedict of Nursia in the 6th century, called for moderation of ascetic practices and established worship services at regular hours. Throughout the Middle Ages, monasticism played a vital role not only in spreading Christianity but also in preserving and adding to literature and learning. It underwent periodic reforms, notably by the Cistercians in the 12th century, and saw the founding of mendicant orders such as the Dominicans and Franciscans. Monasticism has also been important in Eastern religions. In early Hindu times (c. 600-200 BC) there were hermits who lived in groups (ashrams), though they did not lead a strictly organized communal life. Jainism may be the first religion to have had an organized monastic life, which was characterized by extreme asceticism. Buddhist monks observe a moderate rule that avoids extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.
